1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a slide door assembly for a vehicle, and more particularly, to a slide door assembly with a safety device, which can improve the safety thereof by holding a slide door substantially three-quarters open when the slide door is opened with an open window pane.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, a slide door for a vehicle is configured to be guided in a fore-and-aft direction by three rails provided in parallel with one another.
Such a slide door includes a lower rail provided on a chassis of a vehicle and a lower roller bracket having a roller, attached to a slide door and slidably engaged with the lower rail.
The slide door can be slidably opened and closed by the roller attached to the lower roller bracket, which moves along the lower rail.
In the case of the slide door having a window pane that is moved up and down by a window regulator, a portion of a human body, such as a passenger's head or arm, could be exposed outwardly from the vehicle, while the window pane is opened. In this instance, when the slide door is opened, the exposed human body outwardly may collide against the chassis or be pressed by the slide door.
A controlling device for solving the above problem is disclosed in Korean Patent Unexamined Publication No. 10-2005-0047367 entitled “Window pane safety device for slide door.”
The window pane safety device according to the prior art includes, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a slide door 1 being slidable in a lateral direction along a lower rail of a chassis, a window pane 2 mounted on an upper end of the slide door 1 and being movable in downward or upward direction to open or close the window pane, and a window regulator 3 mounted on a center portion of the slide door 1 for moving the window pane 2 in downward or upward direction.
The window regulator 3 is connected to a cable 60 to actuate an operation lever 40 when the window pane 2 is moved up or down.
When the slide door 1 with the opened window pane is opened, the operation lever 40 actuates the safety device so that the slide door 1 is not fully opened.
The safety device includes, as shown in FIG. 3, a window safety striker 10 coupled to a lower roller plate 4 of the slide door 1 for guiding slide movement of the slide door 1; an interlock member 20 mounted on the lower roller plate 4 of the slide door 1 and locked in the window safety striker 10 in the state in which a window pane 2 is opened; a spring member 30 for resiliently supporting the interlock member 20; an operation lever 40 protruding from a side of the interlock member 20 and pivoting the interlock member; an interlock stopper for supporting the side of the interlock member 20 and controlling a position of the interlock member 20; a cable 60 connected to the operation lever 40 and pulling the operation lever 40 and pivoting the interlock member 20 when the window pane 2 is moved up, to prevent locking of the window safety striker 10; and controlling device 70 for detecting a position of a window pane connected to an end of the cable 60 and mounted on the window regulator 3. The controlling device 70 pulls the cable 60 to pivot the interlock member 20 when the position of the window pane 2 is over a certain height, and releases the cable 60 to return the interlock member 20 to its original position when the position of the window pane 2 is moved by a certain height or less.
In the state where the window pane 2 of the slide door 1 is opened, the slide door 1 can not be opened, since the interlock member 20 is locked by the window safety striker 10. Consequently, even though a human body is exposed to an open area of the window pane 2, it can prevent damage to the human body.
However, since the slide door 1 is not stationary in a closed direction, the slide door can move to be closed again due to its own weight when the vehicle is parked on a downhill slope. In this instance, if a portion of the human body exists in an open area of the window pane 2, the human body collides against a frame of the slide door, so that the human body is injured. Also, there is another problem in that an accident may happen when a passenger gets on or off a vehicle.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.